1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slide module of a slide type portable terminal having an external type card cover exposed and concealed to and from the outside of the terminal during the slidable movement thereof and a cover apparatus for an external type card mounted to the slide module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, portable communication devices are devices by which radio communications are performed, and are sorted into various types according to their shapes. For example, portable communication devices are sorted into a bar type, a flip type, and a folder type portable terminal according to their shapes. The bar type terminal has a single bar-shaped housing, the flip type terminal has a bar-shaped housing and a flip rotatably engaged by a hinge unit, and the folder type terminal has a folder rotatably connected to a bar-shaped housing by a hinge unit.
Further, portable communication devices are also sorted into a rotation type and a slide type terminal according to their opening/closing methods. The rotation type terminal is opened and closed whereby two housings are rotatably connected so as to be opposite to each other. The slide type terminal is opened and closed whereby two housings are opposite to each other when a housing is moved in a lengthwise direction. The variously sorted portable communication terminals will be understood by those skilled in the art.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the slide type portable terminal 1 having a main body 2 including a plurality of key pads 2a and a microphone unit 2b, a slide body 3 is slid by about half of the length of the main body 2 to open the portable terminal. Generally, a 3×4 key pad is installed on the main body 2, and a speaker unit 3a and a display unit 3b can be installed on the front surface of the slide body 3.
According to the conventional slide type portable terminal, a main plate (not shown) is provided in the main body and a slide plate (not shown) is provided in the slide body, and since the plates are engaged so as to be opposite to each other, the size of the terminal becomes larger due to the thickness of the plates, hampering the miniaturization of the terminal.
A structure of a slide type portable communication device is described in detail in Korean Patent No. 2002-71911, assigned to the assignee of the present application. However, according to the slide type potable communication device disclosed in this patent, the upper and lower housings are thick, and are disadvantageous with respect to slimming the portable device, hampering a good gripping feeling and restricting the appearance of its design.
Conventional slide type portable communication devices have varied functions according to desires of consumers. The size of the devices are being miniaturized, and voice communication and radio listening becomes possible. Further, MP3 music and moving images can be downloaded by connecting to the internet. However, since the music and moving image files are big and the memory capacity is large, a separate memory card, i.e., an external card, is needed, and an engaging device must be provided in the body of the terminal to mount the external card.
However, since the engaging device of the conventional external card is mounted to the body of the terminal so as to be exposed to the outside, the appearance of the terminal is not good. Further, since a separate space must be provided in the terminal, the size of the terminal becomes larger.